


take me (i'm yours)

by sarahjhutch



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Circus, M/M, Magic, black magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-28
Updated: 2013-12-30
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:40:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahjhutch/pseuds/sarahjhutch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam and Niall end up going to a travelling circus where they meet Louis and Zayn who totally make a mess of everything because Zayn just wants to impress Niall with his voodoo black magic.</p><p>Stuff happens and they fall in love and probably have a lot of sex and whatnot.</p><p>(truth be told, this was inspired by Zayn's tattoos and Niall's lack thereof)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

There’s a boy standing next to one of the curtained doorways of the massive tent with smoke billowing out of his mouth around a cigarette. He’s got stubble dotting his creamy tan skin and his hair is pushed back and inky black. Niall is taken aback by his eyes; heavy lidded and a piercing brown that seem to be staring a hole into his. 

They're staring back and forth until a shorter boy emerges from the tent and plucks the cigarette out from between the boys pink lips, flicking it to the ground. The smaller boy has feathery hair that the dark haired boy runs his fingers through, quickly with a cheeky grin. He follows the boy back inside, raising his hand in a mock salute to Niall, poking his tongue against his inner cheek. His sleeve slips down as he does, revealing ink designs up his forearm, dark and striking against his skin.

“Niall!” A voice rips through the haze, drawing him back to reality.

“Liam, whats up?”

“Where’d you go off to? I’ve been looking all over for you.” Liam exclaims and Niall blushes, looking down at his feet, guilt written all over his face.

“Sorry Li-li, wanted to check out this tent, looks magical or somethin’” Niall laughed, pointing out the purple velvet expanse. 

“No shit it looks magical, we’re at a circus mate, there’s bound to be a magic show around here somewhere” He just laughs, his puppy dog eyes growing wide and soft as he throws an arms around Niall’s shoulders. 

They do make their way over to the tent, only after Niall smacks Liam up the side up his head with the back of his hand. Niall doesn’t deal well with people tickling his ears, something Liam is infamous for doing at the most inopportune moments. Liam runs off, leading them towards the tent, his soft laugh carrying them over to the entrance where the mysterious boy stood a few minutes before. 

The tent is dark and smells faintly of roses when they enter, along with the scent of smoke lying thick in the air. It’s hard to see and Niall stumbles a few times before blindly reaching out and gripping Liam’s upper arm, digging his blunt nails into his flesh.

“Niaaaaall, let go.” Liam whined, brushing at Niall's hand with his, hardly putting any effort into prying his fingers off. 

“It’s too dark.” He pouted, shuffling closer and squinting. 

“Hear that Malik, they think it’s too dark.” Niall jumped at the new voice, squinting into the dark as he tried to pinpoint the source of the voice. It was high but definitely male, carrying sarcasm in every word. 

The only answer he got was a throaty chuckle coming from the opposite end of the room. Niall could feel Liam shiver under his grip and he sidled closer until he was pressed up against his side. 

 

“Why don’t we shed some light then?” The voice sneered, light and angelic, but twisted.

All at once the room glowed in firelight, and Niall blinked several times before rubbing his eyes and searching for the source of the voices. The smaller boy from earlier was sitting cross-legged on a round table littered with small candles and chalk. He swung around as he heard shuffling behind him, and there was the tan skinned boy, standing a few feet behind them. He licked his lips before walking over to the other boy, leaning against the table.

“Oi, Zayn, that’s the boy that was watching you earlier!” He exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him. He blushed, pulling away from Liam and taking a shaking step away from them.

“What’s going on?” Liam asked, his voice shaking slightly with confusion.

“Ah sorry, I messed it up. This is part of a magic show or whatever, I’m supposed to flick this smoke machine over here, but I got distracted.” The small boy smirked.

“Louis is a bit of an idiot, you’ll have to excuse him.” Zayn finally spoke, giving a name to the small boy.

“Shut it, Z!” He exclaimed, kicking Zayn in the back with his black shoe.

“You’re gonna leave dirt on my shirt, you wanker!” He yelled, turning around. Sure enough, there was a small footprint on the back of his faded sweater. 

“Ah, so we should go then? Let other people come in, wouldn’t wanna disrupt you guys while you’re working?” Niall asked, running a sweaty palm over his loose jeans. 

“No!” Zayn yelled, taken aback by his own outburst, “er, not yet, yeah? We could show you some magic if you want us to?” 

“Zayn, you dunce!” Louis hissed, slapping him on the back of his head. Zayn just turned back to him and opened his eyes wide, begging him to comply. 

“Fine, but it’s your fault if they go running off like lunatics and we have to leave again.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Niall and Liam, gauging their reaction.

“I, really? But you just said it was a smoke machine-“

“Real magic, Irish, not that fake shit.” Louis said, sliding off the table and standing in front of the two of them, grinning from ear to ear.

“Niall, let’s go, this is weird.” Liam tugged on his Henley sleeve, pulling him back a second.

“Li, let’s just stay for a second yeah? We can go see the sword-eating guy after this.” Niall begged, sucking his lip between his teeth and chewing.

“Yeah, yeah, fine. Show us what you can do, or whatever.” He said to Louis, gesturing with his hands. Zayn just laughed, rolling up his sleeves to reveal his inked skin and cracked his neck once, twice. 

Smoke started to billow from his mouth, but there was no cigarette in sight. He grinned through the smoke before blowing it in rings that caught in front of Liam’s face, causing him to cough. He picked up one of the candles on the table, dripping hardened wax down the side, and he blew. The wick automatically caught on fire and Louis giggled from behind him.

“That’s child’s play.” He said as he snapped his fingers and the room went black again. Niall gasped as eyes lit up in front of his face, molten gold instead of it’s original brown. 

Louis stood in front of him and held his hand out as flames erupted from his palm, black in color and warm to the touch. As quick as the fire came, he closed his palm again and muttered a few words, light returning to the room. This time, Zayn was seated on the table, just on the edge with his boot-clad feet scraping the ground. 

He raised his hand and muttered some words as the items in the room began to move, flying around Liam and Niall. Niall was frozen still, his hands in his pockets, and his eyes darting around attempting to follow the books and candles flying around him. 

“Okay, stop…STOP!” Liam yelled and the items crashed to the ground, his eyes blown wide and his hand scrambling for Nialls. He gripped his hand tight and turned on his heel, yanking Niall from the tent and out into the bright sun.

“What the hell Liam?”

“That was fucked up Niall, royally fucked up. I don’t care how hot you think that guy is, that is not normal.” Niall just scoffed, yanking his hand out of Liam’s.

“No shit Sherlock, it’s magic, what in the bloody fuck did you expect Liam?” Niall fumed, crossing his arms over his chest, “rainbows and butterflies?”

“No, Ni-“

“Wait, please don’t go!” Zayn’s voice came from behind them and Niall whipped around, facing the direction his voice came from.

“I’m so sorry, I just… I don’t know how to explain really, but I just felt like I should show you, y’know? You feel…special. Like, you’re special to me, I don’t know, but you’re in my head.” Zayn breathed out in a rushed whisper as Louis came up behind him, panting for breath.

“Knew that one would overreact, you idiot.” Louis hissed at him, “he even looks too uptight, like there’s a pole shoved up his as-“ 

“Hey! Just ‘cause you’re cute doesn’t mean you get to be a little shit all the time!” Liam exclaimed, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

“Dickhead! Oi, wait…you think I’m cute?” he grinned, cheeky with his tongue pressing against his lip. 

“That’s beside the point!” He huffed, putting his hands on his hips.

“I don’t know ‘bout you Li, but I found it really cool.” Niall giggled, turning to Zayn again and smiling at him. Liam groaned. He knows that kind of smile; it only comes out when Niall is in love, or getting close. His teeth are peeking out behind his pink lips, and his dimple is showing. 

Before Liam could say anything else, a tall boy arrived in a flurry between Zayn and Louis, running a hand through his curly hair.

“You idiots! Paul is so mad, so so mad!” he huffed, throwing his hands up, his white shirt lifting to reveal a sliver of skin.

“Haz, calm down, it was nothing I swear.” Louis murmured, standing on his tiptoes to brush his lips against the boy’s cheek. The boy visibly relaxed, his shoulders falling and his hands going limp at his sides. 

“Ugh Zayn, say goodbye to lover boy and get back to your tent, Paul looks like he’s about to birth a whale!” He groaned, yanking Zayn and Louis with him, Zayn resisting more than Louis. 

“Come back tomorrow!” Zayn yelled one last time, sending a smile over his shoulder as the tall boy shoved him back towards the velvet tent.

Niall grinned back and waved, already planning how he was going to sneak out of school to come to the circus. Liam just sighed beside him as they began walking home, knowing he would end up being dragged along with him again.


	2. taken in by the sweetest sin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long but i've been on a studying grind bc finals woops
> 
> lu, sarahhhh xx

“Z, what the hell is up with you?” Louis asks, punching his arm. 

“Lou, you know how it feels, the pull was so strong, and I couldn’t resist!” Zayn spits out, whispering, as they get closer to their sleeping quarters.

“Paul’s gonna eat you alive, mate.”

“Worth it though, aint it?” He says, wringing his hands. 

“Yeah I guess.”

“If I recall correctly, you literally hijacked a car to go find Harry, and it worked out for you.”

“Oh shut up.” Louis grumbles, but his frown soon changes into a smile when they enter their tent and Harry sends a grin his way.

There’s a strange assortment of people inside the large tent, all set out on cots with their own assortments of personal belongings. A woman is in the corner, brushing her floor-length hair with a large comb. Another woman is laughing at her and her eyes glow a bright red in the dark of the room. Two men are arm-wrestling a few cots over, testing their own superhuman strength against the other. Zayn sleeps next to Harry and Louis, who share a cot together. He sits on his cot and pulls his sketchpad onto his lap, crossing his legs and smiling softly. He goes to work, pulling Nialls features from memory as he sketches his feathery hair and his perky ears. 

Harry grins knowingly at him where he’s draped over Louis’s back, his chin resting on his delicate shoulder. That’s what Zayn wants, someone he can hold all the time, someone who’s going wait for him and smile when he comes home. Even if home is a tent on the road and they haven’t actually been stationary for so long. 

“Lights out!” They hear Paul call out, and Louis curls into Harry, snapping his fingers to extinguish the candles littered around. There’s some grumbling, complaints about how they weren’t ready yet. But Louis just curses back, and giggles uncontrollably into Harrys shoulder. Harry purrs softly and his yellow eyes flash before he curls back into Louis. No matter how many times Zayn hears the feline noises come from Harrys lips, he’ll never be used to the fact that his best friend is more animal than human. 

Zayn falls asleep easily, lulled to sleep by the soft bass streaming through his headphones. He grips his pillow tight and dreams of a pale boy with bright eyes and calloused, rough hands. 

\----------------------------------------

“Oi, Zayn, get your ass up.” Zayn groans and turns to his side, away from Harry’s drawl in his ear.

“Nuh-uh, not now, someone caught your shit on fire, get up!” 

“F-fire…GRIMSHAW!” He yells, pushing up from his cot and pulling on a shirt over his sweatpants as he rushes out of the tent, barefoot. 

He takes in the sight of a pile of ashes in the middle of the field, remnants of his velvet tent charred and covered in ash. Nick Grimshaw has always held a grudge against him, stealing his place, stealing his friends, stealing everything. Truth be told, Nick was a dick who lost his friends all on his own. But Grimmy hasn’t really forgiven him for taking his place.

“Grimmy! Where the fuck are you?” There’s a snicker behind him and he growls, turning around to face Nick, his fists clenched at his sides.

“You goddamn pyro, what the fuck is wrong with you, huh? Who pissed in your fucking cereal this morning?” Zayn snaps, firing insults at Grimmy like it’s his job.

“You’re a fucking tramp, you know that Malik, you showed two idiot mortals your secret! You put us all in danger, what the hell is wrong with you? You really think your precious ‘soulmate’ is going to keep this a secret? You ruined this for everyone!” 

“You’re the tramp Grimshaw, everyone knows you want to get in Harrys pants! You’re just too damn scared of Louis to say anything!” Grimmy bristles and flicks a flame around the palm of his hand. 

“You’re dead Malik!” he growls, but Paul is faster, grabbing Grimmy by his shirt and pushing him to his knees. Harry appears behind Zayn and mumbles a quick apology before doing the same, his claws pricking tiny holes in the shoulder of his shirt. 

“Apologize, both of you!” Paul roars, and they both comply, shame written over their faces.

“Grimshaw, back in the tent, Malik come with me!” Paul growls, beckoning Zayn after him as he retreats into the main tent. 

“Damnit Zayn, there’s no need in picking fights with anyone, especially someone on camp. By now I should’ve kicked you out, I only keep you on because we’re all you’ve got.” Zayn curls his knees to his chest in one of the large, plush chairs, resting his chin on his knees as he watches Paul run his large hand over his face.

“He burnt down my tent! Where am I supposed to do my show? Louis is hurt by this too, he’s gonna have to go back to doing the show with Sam, and you know they don’t work well together!” He knows he’s throwing a fit like a child, but he can’t help it, he’s worked so hard for his tent and for his pay, and Nick just sent it all up in flames. 

“Stop complaining Zayn! Sarah can make you a new tent from the old ones we’ve got laying around. More importantly, I want to talk about your stunt yesterday.” Paul snaps, his hand curling into a fist. 

“I-“ Zayn mumbles before swallowing his words. 

“You purposely put us all in danger to show off to a couple of college kids, tell me why, and don’t spare me any details.” 

“He- he has the spark, when I got closer to him I could feel it, and he could too, he just assumed it was raw attraction. I know it was stupid, but he’s mine, I had to keep him interested somehow, I have to keep him wanting to come back.” Zayn says, his voice small and weak.

Paul just sighs and shakes his head, gesturing to Zayn to leave. He complies, his head hanging low and his heart a heavy burden in his chest. 

Louis finds him when he returns to pick through the ashes of what used to be his sanctuary. His hands are covered in ash and he curses Nick Grimshaw over and over, flames growing in his eyes. Louis just kneels down next to him and pulls his spellbook out of the ash, brushing the cover off and inspecting the singed pages. 

“Z, it’s okay y’know, nobody hates you, except Grimmy but he’s a douche anyways.” Louis says, nudging him with his shoulder.

“Niall is supposed to come today.” He says, his voice somber.

“Hey, Haz said we can help out with his show today and maybe you can get Niall to come see that one?” Louis’ voice is bright but his eyes are viewing Zayn like he’s a small, fragile child.

“Yeah, okay, as long as he doesn't have me pulling card tricks.” Louis grimaces and Zayn just sighs, shaking his head with a small smile playing across his lips. 

\----------------------------------------

Later that evening he’s dressed in a get up that matches Louis’ and Harry’s; dark pants and a bare chest that is streaked with paint. The paint looks the best on him, he smugly thinks, his dark skin contrasting with the deep blues and reds. 

He’s so caught up in pulling cards out of mid air for middle aged women and small children that he almost forgets Niall is coming. The lights dim however, and the real show starts as Harry slinks onto the stage, Louis grasping a whip next to him, his smile wide and mischievous. Harry’s eyes flicker and he bares his fangs, the whole crowd gasping. 

He gets distracted, however, when there’s a pull on his chest and his feet feel rooted to the ground like a weight. Niall is standing close to the entrance of the tent, looking around uneasily with his phone clasped in his sweaty palm. Zayn grins and makes his way towards him like an animal towards its prey. The oooh’s and aaaah’s from the crowd are static in his ears as he inches closer. 

Niall is like an angel standing in the darkness of the tent, the light streaming through the half open door shining down on his hair like a halo. He gulps, taken aback by how freaking beautiful his soulmate is.


	3. we should all burn together

Niall looks absolutely entranced with Harry’s show, he even laughs when the rest of the crowd laughs, and gasps when it’s most appropriate. His blue eyes are bright and widened, watching Harry with a mixture of awe and fright. It’s the kind of attention that Harry always demands. He gets a high from watching people watch him perform. It’s a huge difference from when he was 17 and came to the circus for the first time, a small beaten child with bared teeth and bloody hands. Louis cooed when he first saw him and just wrapped him up in his arms, pulling him flush to his chest. Harry hasn’t let go of Louis since. Even though he’s much taller now, and he’s more confident and stronger than before. But Louis is still his rock. 

He doesn’t realize Zayn is walking towards him until he’s just to his right, and Niall almost flinches, like he can sense him. Zayn knows he can feel the tug, it’s probably not as strong, but it has to be there. Niall gives him a wary smile and steps closer to him, but as he tries to speak the crowd gasps again and he knows it’s too loud. Zayn motions for them to leave the tent and Niall nods once before dutifully following. 

The sun is bright outside of the tent and now his painted chest stands out too much, so he self-consciously curls in on himself. Niall just puts out his hand and touches a pale finger to a red streak going across his shoulder, giving him a small smile. He giggles and Niall reminds him of a child with his golden freckles and the blush across his cheeks.

“You came.” Zayn states, and Niall nods as they fall into step, walking around the large expanse of the circus set up.

“I was curious.”

“About what?”

“You, and the magic, but mostly you.” Niall replies cheekily, slipping his hoodie off of his shoulders as he holds it out to Zayn. He takes it graciously, but not before mumbling to Niall about the paint. Niall just hushes him and laughs. 

“Ask me anything you want… I’m all yours.” He says it innocently enough, but Niall catches the implication and stops in his tracks, turning to face Zayn all the way. They’ve somehow ended up behind one of the empty trailers, a dark shadow streaked across the ground.

“You really mean that, don’t you?” he doesn’t answer, just stares at his feet like they’re the most interesting thing in the world.

Nialls face sort of goes blank for a moment as he stares at Zayn, waiting for an answer. He doesn’t get one however, so he sighs and crosses his arms across his chest. He takes on an annoyed tone, and Zayn winces, immediately knowing that he did something wrong. 

“Liam told me you were strange, and believe me when I say I 100 percent believed him, but you’re really hot, like majorly hot, and you showed interest in me, so obviously I would show up right?” Zayn opens his mouth to answer but Niall just raises his hand to stop him, “but I don’t even know you, and you…you said I was ‘special to you’, like what the hell does that even mean? Fuck, you’re putting off a really creepy vibe mate, like 60 percent creepy and 40 percent hot. It’s throwing me off. I don’t know how to, like, react.”

“I didn’t mean-“

“You’re totally gonna go voodoo on me arse and kill me n bury me in a field aren’t you?” Niall grimaces and Zayn just laughs at him. 

“Depends, any preference in fields?” Niall scowls, but Zayn can tell he’s hooked him in. He’s no longer scared looking, instead his eyes brighten and he giggles, fucking giggles, at Zayn. 

“Didn’t peg you for a sarcastic guy.”

“If you knew Louis, you’d know where I got it from.” He laughs and Niall pulls a face, sticking his tongue out and grinning. 

“So now that I know you’re not a murderer, what are we gonna do?” 

“Er...” Zayn blushes and Niall doubles over with laughter. 

“You invited me here without any sort of pretense to what we’re going to do? Smooth.” But Niall doesn’t seem angry, instead he half coo’s like Zayn is the most adorable person ever. With the way he’s blushing and biting his bottom lip, he just might be. 

“Do you have anywhere to be?”

“Well, technically I have a class right now at Uni, but I’m here so…” Niall shrugs and Zayn just about coos at him. 

“Oh…you’re older than I thought.”

“I’m 19 mate, not that old.” He giggles, and Zayn leans closers just to hear his laugh one more time, blushing. 

“Oh shit, ah, well…”

“You’re not good at this are you?” 

“Er, is it that bad?” Zayn watches his feet. 

“Kinda.” Niall laughs but the way he does it, it lightens Zayn’s stress and he smiles a little, the corner of his mouth lifting up. 

“Hey, let’s start over okay, forget the magic shit and just talk.” Zayn just nods eagerly, and Niall grins back at him.

“Okay, so I’m Niall, I’m nineteen and in my first semester at Uni, uh… I’m studying music production…your turn.” They begin walking around the field again, passing by tents and several booths. Zayn waves at the people he knows, and Niall admires him from afar. 

“Uh, m’names Zayn, I'm eighteen and I don’t go to school, haven't gone since I was thirteen…um…”

“Hold up, thirteen!?” Nialls mouth hangs open, and if this were a cartoon, his jaw would be on the ground. 

“Er, yes, I ran away from home when I turned fourteen and joined the circus.” Niall slaps a hand over his mouth, knocking against his braces, to stop himself from bursting into laughter. 

“You’re a walking cliché, fuck.”

“Says the frat boy.” Niall stops abruptly and looks down at himself, cargo pants cuffed over white supras and a baggy tank top revealing slightly bronzed skin. His wrists are covered in wristbands from parties, a testament to all of his nights spent in a drunken stupor. There’s a snapback resting on his blonde-brown hair, and his finger is adorned with a ring that bears the crest of Delta Phi, his grandfathers. Niall blushes and runs his fingers over his hair, knocking his hat off kilter. 

They both erupt into laughter and Zayn doubles over, crossing his arms over his stomach. Niall is caught up again in how fucking beautiful Zayn is, the way his dark skin contrasts with the bright paint streaked over his chest, and the way he pokes his tongue against his teeth when he laughs. His stomach muscles contract with the laughter and Niall watches him hungrily, watching how every part of him flows like water. 

It’s only then that Niall pulls out his phone and checks the time, cursing at his missed calls and texts, most of them from Liam and even one from his mom. He hates missing when his mom calls, being so far away from her is hard on them both.

“Someone worried?” Zayn asks, leaning forward. 

“Yeah, ah fuck, I was supposed to be back at the Delta Phi house at 2, and it’s nearly 3, fuck fuck fuck-“

“It’s okay, go on, I don’t mind.” Zayn smiles so genuinely that Niall nearly croaks at the sight.

“Okay, just, one more thing.” He leans in close so their noses are almost touching and Zayn stops breathing, his hands clenched nervously at his sides, expecting a kiss to come.

Instead he feels a weight on his head as Niall smirks and when Niall steps back he’s no longer wearing his snapback, his hair mussed up cutely and falling over his forehead. He grins cheekily and waves, walking in the direction of the exit, leaving Zayn in a daze. 

When Harry and Louis find him again, he’s still smiling like he’s drunk, the hat resting in his hands like a fragile package.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this sucks :(

**Author's Note:**

> yes i haven't updated my other two works in ages but i'm almost into finals and i just was struck with inspiration. I'm not sorry or whatever, but y'know. 
> 
> Sarah


End file.
